Scapegoat, << SKAYP goht, >> originally meant one of the two goats received by the Jewish high priest in ancient Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement. One was for Yaweh (Jehovah), the Hebrew God, and was killed as a sacrificial offering. The second was called the scapegoat. This one was for Azazel, which may have been the spirit of evil. The priest laid his hands upon the scapegoat as he confessed the people’s sins. Then the priest sent the scapegoat into the wilderness. This was a symbol that the sins had been forgiven. Today, a person who has been blamed for something which is the fault of another is referred to as a scapegoat. The ritual is described in Leviticus 16.
